Lexington County was named for the Battle of Lexington,
Massachusetts, the first battle of the American Revolution. This part of the
state was designated as Lexington County from 1785 to 1791, then was merged
back into the larger Orangeburg District. Lexington was eventually made a
separate district in 1804. Small parts of the county later went to form Aiken
(1871) and Calhoun (1908) counties. European settlement of this area began
around 1718 when the British established a trading post on the Congaree River,
which eventually became the town of Granby. Beginning in the 1730s many
German, Swiss, and Scotch-Irish immigrants moved into the area and
established small farms. Granby was the leading town and county seat for many
years, but the growth of Columbia across the Congaree led to Granby's
decline, and the county seat was moved to the town of Lexington in 1818.
General Sherman's troops shelled the city of Columbia from the Lexington side
of the Congaree during the Civil War. In 1930 Lake Murray was created on the
Saluda River in Lexington County, covering many of the old farms and creating
new recreational opportunities.